Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you do or say something so blatantly against your own ideals and beliefs you shock even yourself? Suddenly drawn back by your own lack of discipline or moral character? You instantly feel an inner distance between who you are trying to be and who just revealed themselves to the outside world. This struggle can often times bring us down. It can even make us want to quit trying, or wonder if there is a point in trying to be better.
Paul was no stranger to this struggle as he expressed in Romans 7:18-19 KJV. He too explains the struggle of doing that which he does not want to do, and not doing that which he does want to do. This is the battle between the Spirit and the Flesh. Paul talks about it to remind us of how much in need we are of a Savior. How incapable of righteousness we are without Christ.
But what do we do with this battle? How can we keep our flesh from suddenly choking out the Spirit amidst our conversations, our conflicts, and our life's endeavors? How can we have better control over which one will win in our daily life? The key to this battle is input vs output. What goes into the soul, will come out of it..
My mission trip has taken a turn for the worst as the freezing snow wrestles my legs and I trudge along the little mountain trail. I lead my horse by the reigns as we make our way to the closest town. I know it wouldn't do any good to push him any harder by riding him after our futile attempts to pull the wagon out of the icy slough. The last thing I need is to lose both my wagon and my horse. "By the Lord's grace it won't be long buddy. We'll find a town soon." I try to warm my horse by keeping his blanket spread across his freezing back.
I desperately wish to lay down and rest for a moment but I know in these freezing winters the only thing keeping me alive is continuous movement. My desperate contemplation is interrupted when I hear a rider approaching from the woods to my left. Unsure of the nature of the visit I sling my rifle from my back and prepare for the worst. As I stare down the lone figure I can see a hand go up.
It's a Chief. I relax and sling my rifle back around behind me again. I know we are not at war right now, but I also know that even if we were, I wouldn't stand a chance against his men who are most certainly posted all around me right now. I raise my hand and greet him back.
"Hello Chief" I say unsure of the language he speaks. He simply nods and lowers his hand.
"Why do you walk in the snow like a child who cannot ride?" the Chief asks with his eyebrows raised.
He speaks very clear English. I am relieved as I've only learned some native tongues for my mission work. But I can't speak to every tribe in the area.
"My wagon is stuck. My horse is tired. I am tired." I say, too worn out to go into much detail.
"Come. Follow me." the Chief says signaling me to follow him.
As I do sure enough, I see his hunting party of about 20 men move into the open to follow his signal as well. As we move through the woods to what I assume will be his camp. I then ask the Chief.
"Where did you learn such good English Chief?" The Chief smiles in silence for a moment as if to recall a pleasant memory.
Then he says to me. "A very wise young man came to our camp last winter. He spoke powerful words. He spoke of the Great Spirit. He showed me the book of his Words. After he told me of the great medicine that the book carried, of the God who made all, of the way He died for our people, and saved us from the sin. I wished to read these words myself. Him and his family stayed and taught me these things."
"I too have come to spread the words of that book!" I exclaim in excitement as I pull my Bible from my saddle bag. I can't help but find joy that I am not the only missionary to pass through this area. The Chief smiles much wider and speaks again.
"The words I learned from the great book have made a great change in me. For the many moons after, I have had a strong battle within me. It is as if two wolves are fighting inside me. A wolf of light and a wolf of darkness." The Chief's develops a stern look upon his face.
"So Chief. Which of the two wolves wins the fight?" I ask. The Chief turns up on his horse and looks at me. His face filled with conviction and the experience of a very long battle and simply says to me.
"The one I feed the most."
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Story based on Sitting Bull's quote:
“Inside of me there are two dogs. One is mean and evil and the other is good and they fight each other all the time. When asked which one wins I answer, the one I feed the most.” -Sitting Bull
If you ever want to succeed in your battle against the flesh you must stop feeding your flesh but more importantly you must start feeding your spirit. There are many wonderful articles and books on how much we must work on cutting out all the junk and trash we are pouring into ourselves on a daily basis.
How horrible our lives will be if we continue in our sins and bad habits, and how wonderful and easier our lives will be once we cut it all out. But often times they seem to leave out another aspect of the battle we face.
Just as you take out what is evil, you must replace it with something good. If you simply remove the tainted water that you've been consuming for so long from your diet you will quickly find out that you are still thirsty for something. If you don't quench that thirst with something pure you will quickly run right back to tainted water. Simply removing what's bad from a diet does not make a good diet. You must also consume what is good, and pure, and edifying.
Philippians 4:8 KJV
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
Stop struggling with your flesh. Stop trying to starve it out. Start feeding your spirit with good food so that it has the strength to fight. It doesn't do good enough to turn away from temptation, you must turn towards Christ. Run to him when you are deficient. Feed on His word. Pray to Him, cry out to Him when you are tempted.
My direct and detailed prescription for you today dear reader is this:
Instead of doom scrolling whatever pops up in your feed and consuming it. Look for Godly Christ centered content. Look up Biblical podcasts, and audio books.
Instead of idling in your room after quitting social media, start reading books. Productive books. Your Bible, commentaries, devotionals, and educational materials that will develop you.
Instead of rolling around in your bed restlessly longing for a vice to escape reality, pray. Cry out to God, tell him your woes and the groanings of your heart Romans 8:27. Many times in the Psalms David complained to God and expressed his confusion and pain.
Ask God to give you new desires. Turn to worship, listen to worship songs of praise. Sing them, pray them to God.
Set a time out of your day for worship and prayer.
For every wicked thing you let go.
Replace it with that which is Good.
Stay fed.
These are some legit thoughts, and it's something I should remember more myself honestly.
And let me add... it won't be easy to change your appetites like this. Not my any means. But, I hear it gets much easier as time goes on. Diving into godly resources, spending time in the Word, and praying to our Father... they're not natural things, but we must feed on them, and as we do, we'll desire them more. But we need to truly know and believe what the better thing to eat is—which things in our lives are truly worthwhile—and that we truly want to be fed by those things. If we don't really believe it, we won't really live it.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).